Report: Xiaomi has partnered with Google on the next Android One phone

Xiaomi is a name known the world over for its wide range of high-quality gadgets that consistently blows the competition away with its impressively low price points – smartphones included. Now, the Chinese gadget maker might be on hopping on the Android One bandwagon for an upcoming handset in a reported collaboration with Google.

According to the Indonesian outlet Krispitech, the company is apparently planning a rework of its Mi 5X (5.5-inch) into a cheaper model along with Google’s Android One experience.

Xiaomi’s dual-camera equipped Mi 5X

Going the Android One way means a major change Xiaomi’s not familiar with: A stock Android UI as opposed to Xiaomi’s feature-rich MIUI for the first time in the company’s smartphone history. While you probably won’t see all the same functionality that Xiaomi likes to infuse into all its devices, you’ll most likely be guaranteed timely OS updates being a part of the Android One family.

It’ll be most interesting to see if these rumors become reality mainly because the 5X comes with a dual camera which is considered similar to the Portrait Mode on the iPhone 7, and that could be vital for Xiaomi in drawing customers towards an excellent low-priced device.

Xiaomi could just prove to be an excellent partner for Google’s Android One program. The Chinese tech giant has proven time and time again to be capable of building great phones at a variety of price points without compromising on key aspects like battery life and hardware quality. That isn’t the case for brands like Karbonn and Micromax that Google has partnered with in India in the past.

There has been a lot of speculation at the start of this year that Google wants to bring its Android One phones to the US for the very first time. The Android One initiative originally came about for users in emerging markets, but the company reportedly plans on bringing the devices to the US sometime in 2017 in the range of $200 – $300. If everything works out just right, it could be HUGE for Xiaomi, as it hasn’t been able to launch its smartphones in the US yet.